Gino's CEO announces King of Prussia location will close

At least, not like they did 40 years ago, when the catchy commercial jingle touted that “everybody goes to Gino’s … ‘cause Gino’s is the place to go.”

Back in the ’70s, fast food giant Gino’s fairly ruled the roost in King of Prussia, at a spot on DeKalb Pike near Henderson Road, along with nearby Arby’s and Burger King down the road.

In the fall of 2010, the resurrected brand, Gino’s Burgers and Chicken, rebooted itself for new millennium tastes and opened its first location on the other side of DeKalb Pike, across from the mall in the old McDonald’s building.

Tapping into a legion of fans’ fond memories of the chain, a video loop chock full of old clips and photos offered continuous entertainment in the bright, always clean dining room.

With its friendly staff, contemporary red and gray decor, a tasty varied menu featuring an upgraded version of the iconic Gino Giant sandwich and French fries that were a cut above most other fast food fries, the fast casual restaurant seemed to have amassed a strong following all over again.

So, CEO Tom Romano’s announcement this week that the 611 W. DeKalb Pike eatery would be closing its doors took many by surprise.

“The location has served us well,” CEO Romano noted in a press release, but indeed the location’s somewhat hampered accessibility may have contributed to the restaurant’s demise.

Romano indicated that plans were still in the works to open a franchise on the Main Line before the end of the year.

The summer following the launch in King of Prussia, a second Gino’s location opened in Towson, Md. The revitalized brand quickly followed that up with four additional Maryland franchises, including a concession at the home of the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Baltimore is where Gino’s got its start in 1958, under the watchful eye of its founder and namesake, Baltimore Colts great Gino Marchetti.

As the upstart burger joint took on the still emerging McDonald’s, it grew to operating 360 restaurants from Northern Virginia to upstate New Jersey.

In 1965, Gino’s pioneered a co-branding triumph by hooking up with Colonel Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken, for the mid-Atlantic locations only.

In 2010, Marchetti nurtured the welcome rebirth of Gino’s with frequent appearances at the restaurant.

The irony of the new Gino’s staging a comeback in a former McDonald’s was not lost on Romano, who came on board with the original company in 1963, flipping burgers in the Cherry Hill, N.J. location and eventually working his way up to Chief Operating Officer.

Romano stuck with the chain until 1982, when it was sold to Marriott Corporation, which converted the stores to Roy Rogers restaurants.

In spite of the multitude of memories evoked by Gino’s comeback more than two and a half years ago, Romano noted that it was not his goal to create a flashback fantasy on DeKalb Pike.

“We’re not here to resurrect the old Gino’s because you can never satisfy the recollections of the 10 million people we served the last year we were open,” he said at the time. “The feedback we’re getting is that it’s not the same Gino’s — it’s better. The burgers are better, the fries are better, the décor is better.”

In a press release announcing the closing, Romano said that “while we are disappointed to take the difficult step of closing King of Prussia, I remain optimistic about the future of Gino’s Burgers and Chicken.”